1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to livestock trailers having compartments for retaining livestock therein and more particularly pertains to such trailers which have a movable deck mounted therein incorporating gate and ramp structures for facilitating loading and unloading of livestock to the movable deck.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In the manufacture of trailers designed for the transporation of livestock, it is desirable to produce a trailer which is easily adaptable for hauling a variety of animals. To this end, the trailer disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,970,861, issued Feb. 7, 1961, to Short, was developed. The Short carrier provides a double deck livestock configuration which may be employed for hauling small animals, such as hogs and sheep, and convertible from double deck to single level carriers for hauling cattle, and the like. The Short structure includes a movable deck positioned in a drop center trailer over the drop center portion of the trailer. While such a configuration provides numerous benefits and flexibility of utilization, it presents a problem in providing a readily available means of loading animals onto the movable deck portion when disposed in its various locations.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,292,967, issued Dec. 20, 1966, to Peek, shows a gate and ramp device for facilitating loading and unloading of livestock onto a drop center trailer having a second deck disposed over the drop center portion of the trailer. The Peek device, however, does not provide accommodation for loading animals from a second deck provided at a position other than a predetermined fixed position.